- 2018 William Saintot Champagne Meuniers de mes Grands-Pères Extra Brut - France, Champagne (6/3/2024)
Disgorged Jan 2022. Similarly impressed as the first time I had this maker a year ago. Agree with Nick’s note before. Salmon pink in colour. Rich and toasty with red apple fruit, but with a steely mineral spine. Superb purity and drive which I love in champagnes. (93 pts.)
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In Charleston for our anniversary and went to Circa 1886. Brought a bottle of 2002 DP that @Ray.Tuppa_sch sent me after reading a less than flattering note I posted back in 2008 when I actually met my wife. He swore I just had some bad bottles from US sources and sent me his Euro-sourced DP. Our 10th anniversary seemed like a great time to open it.
Ray may be right, this was still young with notes of apple, ginger, citrus, and fresh croissant. Palate is bright and lithe with a touch of bruised apple and lemon showing the wines development along with a note of salted caramel. Beautiful wine. Thank you Ray. RIP
Since that got drained rather quickly they had 2007 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose on list we picked to go with mains of Kurobota Pork, Quail, and Antelope. A very vinous version of Rose with orange, red raspberry, plum, and medium+ bodied palate that carries some palate weight and density with acidity and bubbles that keep it fresh and refreshing with each sip. Great Rose, period. Thank @Jon_Lawrence for mentioning upthread.
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Indeed. RIP Ray, one of my earliest champagne buds/ mentors.
Sunday brunch that will please all palates.
Hure Freres Insouciance
A Rose right out of the box. Bright raspberry leading to strawberry finish. Lacks finesse on the landing but what a fun little ride. 4.5 dosage which actually surprised my zero palette. Nice balance here.
Base 2020/ disgourged 1/2023
Really a value.
Can you dig those bubbles!
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This wine never seems to fail, disgorged December 2020 89 months on the lees 3 g/l. Savory and bright with pastry red orchard fruit, citrus, blood orange. A great wine with food.
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Disclaimer: we sell this wine.
Michel Rutat is another label from René Rutat Champagne. Flavien and Baptiste are now taking care of the house but they retained this label created by their father Michel. There was talk of incorporating the cuvées under the main label but I’m not sure where it’s at.
They have 7 ha of vineyards in Vertus planted to 93% Chard and 7% PN. They work organically but haven’t been Ecocert certified yet.
The Michel Rutat lineup is the higher end cuvées (single vineyard, best parcels, low/no dosage, etc. ).
I’ve had this bottle on deck for a while but I never got around to it. I was expecting a lot and it delivered.
We popped this open earlier today for a quick glass with brunch (chipolata sausages, Gruyère and lardon puffed omelet and other goodies). I recorked this and we revisited it later today as an apéritif and with charolais beef sliders.
100% Chard from Les Grillettes in Vertus. Coeur de Cuvée juice only. Brut Nature, 2017 base, 5 years on lees. Disgorged May 2023.
On opening: burst of asian pear and honeydew melon. The nose is all fruit with some understated florals and little bit of chalk. The same fruits on the palate with a smooth creamy texture and nice underlying acidity that brings all that fruit to a long finish on toasted notes and slight chalkiness. Lovely, elegant and balanced.
5 hours later: the fruit is still there and added some citrus as well but it’s now taking a backseat to brioche and toasted bread on the nose. Some white flowers are also peeking through. The palate shows more concentration but still has that nice acidic drive. Similar long finish with more mineral presence than before. It’s traded some fruit for toastiness and richness.
Really good. Great Champagne to bring to a “no dosage” fearful since this is very well balanced and shows plenty of ripe fruit.
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woah - that glass game.
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In the cheap seats this evening a new wine for me from a producer that hasn’t been mentioned here previously: J.M Goulard from the Massif de Saint-Thierry.
- NV J.M. Goulard Champagne Origine 720 Jours Extra Brut - France, Champagne (11/03/2024)
A blend of 2019 and 2018 vintages. 55/45 Meunier/Pinot Noir. Bottled 7/2020; disgorged 1/2022, 5g/l dosage.
I haven't managed to figure out what the 720 days in the name of this wine means, and, strangely, it doesn't feature on the producer's website.
Anyway, the nose is quite complex... some iodide minerality, a perfumed note that I'm struggling to name (maybe violets?). The palate starts crisp and minerally, then red orchard fruit, and a drying, long and rather more-ish finish. The dosage is well -judged: this is a crisp wine without being austere.
For me this has gone rather well with fried chicken, and also just on its own. For the ~US$37 that I paid I can see this being an occasional repeat buy. (90 points)
Rests on the lees for 720 days maybe?
That’s what I though, but 7/2020 to 1/2022 is only ~540 days.
Friday night was a '12 Vilmart CdC. Quite spicy, ginger, clove, lime, tangerine and high acid. Seemed a bit lacking in the mid-palate. I think this needs time.
Saturday was half-bottle of 244, just an easy drinking MV, great value.
Sunday was '12 Roederer rosé magnum. Nice drinking baby Cristal showing strawberries, lemon cream, raspberries and chalk.
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I bought them for like 50 cents at goodwill. Not really sure what they are but when we want the wine to show its bubbles I pull them out. That narrow vertical part above the stem just always concentrates the bubbles into a major stream.
I’d like to win the glass designing auction one year and make a more elegant modern version.
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Jon, seeing your note on the 12 Vilmart CdC, I went back to look at my recent note, which was US Thanksgiving 2023. Perhaps what you recognized is what I found too, which relaxed a lot with aeration. Dunno if that would be true or not…
- 2012 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (11/20/2023)
Have opened a half a case of this since release, I feel like I am getting to know the wine through time. April 2019 disgorgement. Opened yesterday, there was about an ounce or so left in the bottle so I stoppered it up for today. More than enough raw material to make a note. Yesterday, as we tasted the wine without much air, I recall talking about tangerine, pineapple and chalk. And the presence of that chalk was adding a good level of structure. Today, quite similar although the structure has relaxed a great deal, leaving the classic gentle, suave yet flavor concentrated wine that I love so much from Laurent and this plot. The fruit concentration here and how it expresses reminds me some of really good Chenin, when you can get the lift of the stone fruit, married with a honeyed acidity. This wine is kinda like that class of Chenin. Then, the finish has some of the cleansing lime zest of what Vilmart often does so well. It's really hard for me to think of a wine that so consistently brings me joy, bottle after bottle. And here, yet another winner.
Posted from CellarTracker
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Curious if there has been a recent thread or discussion on recommended champagnes in under $100/$150 price point?
Vintage Roederer and rosé for under $100.
What style are you looking for?
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I was more looking to read a recent discussion / thread on this topic (say in the last couple of years). But to your specific question, more of food friendly champagnes (vs apperitifs)
Only one I found:
The rest are for under $50. Maybe time to start a new one!
At Cave de K in Kyoto last night- crazy strong BTG Champagne playground. Krug 168 was per usual, but Dhondt Grellet got my attention.
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Thanks for that note. Just bought a few bottles, so good to know that it might need some air.